40, 000 NEW PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS WILL GET COPIES OF THE BOOK: “CARING FOR YOUR BABY & YOUNG CHILD,” COURTESTY OF FOOD FOR THE POOR & THE REGISTRAR GENERAL’S DEPARTMENT

Friday, February 08, 2008: Some 40,000 new mothers, fathers and caregivers, who want to provide the very best care for their children, will each receive a copy of the book – Caring for Your Baby and Young Child.

Fr. Burchell McPherson, Chairman of Food for the Poor, Jamaica made the presentation, which is valued at over 50 million Jamaican dollars, this morning to the Permanent Secretary in the Minister of Health, Mrs. Grace Allen- Young and the Registrar General, Dr. Patricia Holeness at Registrar General’s Department Breakfast Meeting in Central Village, St. Catherine.

A similar quantity of books was presented to the Victoria Jubilee Hospital late last year.

Considered an indispensable guide to recognizing and solving common childhood health problems, plus detailed instructions for coping with emergency medical situations, the Caring for Your Baby and You will undoubtly provide some invaluable advice for mothers, fathers and caregivers.

These books were given to the RGD for the sole purpose to help parents and caregivers improve their knowledge on the caring for their baby and young child in areas from infancy to age five. It is also an incentive for parents to register their children, thus preventing problems due to late or non-registration.

A comprehensive, accurate, and up-to-date, Caring for Your Baby and Young Child includes:

• Basic care from infancy through age five
• Guidelines and milestones for physical, emotional, social, and cognitive growth
• A complete health encyclopedia covering injuries, illnesses, congenital diseases, and other disabilities
• Safety checks for home, outdoors and car
• A guide for choosing child-care programmes
• A discussion of family issues from sibling rivalry and adoption to step-families and working mothers and much more.

As part of our commitment to the people of Jamaica, and in particular the health sector, Food for the Poor, last year brought in a total of 1,413 tractor-trailer loads of goods at a value of $14.5 billion dollars. Of that amount, 167 containers, valuing J$4 billion dollars, were for medical supplies.